Shannon struggled through the door with the groceries. It had been a long day at work and then the grocery store had been jam-packed with working wives and mothers getting dinner for their families. She sighed to herself. She was only 19, fresh out of secretarial school and she should be out there, dating guys so that she'd have a chance to become a wife and mother. But unfortunately she was stuck taking care of her dad and older brother after her mother had passed away the previous summer.
She'd never really liked her father or her brother. Her dad was lazy and had used to hit her mom. Her brother had taken after their dad and despite being 25 years old now he'd never managed to hold down a job for more than two consecutive months.
She heard laughter from the dining room and she assumed that it was her dad and brother's poker buddies who were there. That usually meant that she didn't need to fix them any dinner as they'd be stuffing their faces with snacks. Anytime soon they'd come and demand that she go to the liquor store for more beer. Her friends kept telling her to move out to her own apartment to get away from her father and brother. But how could she? They were her only family and she knew that if she didn't look after them, nobody would.
The voices in the dining room grew louder. There seemed to be some sort of dispute. She heard her brother's voice. "That's ridiculous. You can't do that! I don't owe you that much."
"I'll settle your debt and give you $1,000 credit," said a voice she didn't recognize.
"I can't do it, it's not right," protested her brother.
"You don't have a choice, buddy. It's either that or we'll take you to Vinnie's right this minute and you can rest assured that he'll have some nice concrete shoes fitted out for you."
Shannon's brother stormed into the kitchen. His face was red with anger and she could tell that he'd been drinking a lot. "Shannon, come with me," he demanded and grabbed her arm. He walked her into the dining room where her dad was passed out in a corner and there were three men she'd never seen before.
"What's going on?" she asked nervously.
"Your brother has a debt he can't pay," said one of the men.
"Sean? Is that right? How much do you owe these men?" she turned to her brother.
"He owes us $4,000 and he's overdue," continued the man who'd spoken before.
Shannon knew none of them had that kind of money and the house was already fully mortgaged. "How about if he gets a new job? My company is hiring. I work with the payroll, I can make sure he pays you a percentage of his wage every week."
"That's too late, we're not a bank. We're getting paid tonight."
Before she had a chance to react the other two men put a blindfold over her eyes and gagged her. They tied her hands behind her back and started leading her outside. She could hear Sean whimpering. "I'm sorry Shannon, they were going to kill me otherwise."
The last thing she heard as she was being led out of the house was the man who'd been doing the talking asking Sean if he wanted the remaining £1,000 for her in cash or as credit. Sean mumbled that he'd take the cash.
Shannon felt herself being manoeuvred into the backseat of a car and her captors sat on either side of her. They drove for about half an hour and it didn't take her long to lose her bearings completely. The car wasn't moving very fast and it kept turning, so she assumed she was still in the city. It finally came to a stop and she was pulled out of the car and made to walk with her captors. They opened a door and went inside, but it wasn't much warmer.
"Hey Vinnie!" one of her captors called out. "We've got the girl."
Steps approached and she could feel a foul breath against her face. "This is Sean's sister? I think we've struck a good deal here. She's worth a lot more than $5,000. Put her away until Jimmy gets here tomorrow morning."
Again she was pushed and made to walk up some stairs. She was pushed into a room and heard a door lock behind her. She was still bound, gagged and blindfolded and she started crying. She was lying on the cold floor and she still didn't understand what was going on. Why had her brother sold her like that? Who were Vinnie and Jimmy? And what were they going to do with her now? She could only pray that Sean would come to his senses or her dad would wake up and they'd go to the police.
She started investigating her cell. It wasn't easy since her hands were bound behind her back and she couldn't see anything. There was nothing to be found though. Nothing for her to lie down on, nowhere for her to go to the toilet. She'd been bursting to go when she came home from work and now she was getting desperate. She tried to call out, but the gag muffled her cries. She tried to think what time it was. It had been close to eight when she got home and it must be at least nine now, probably close to ten. That Jimmy was supposed to get here in the morning. Maybe she could hold herself until then and ask him to let her use a toilet.
She was trying to sleep but her bladder was starting to hurt her. She cried with shame when she finally lost control of herself and started urinating, soiling her favourite pant suit. She didn't get much sleep during the night. The room was cold, the floor was freezing, she was hungry and thirsty and her legs were itching where her urine was starting to dry. After an eternity she heard steps approaching and the door was opened.
"Oh fuck, she's pissed herself," it was the voice of the guys from last night as he entered her cell.
"What do you expect?" said another voice. "You didn't take her to the toilet. Would it be so difficult to think once in a while? Clean her off and take her to my office."
"Sure Jimmy," said the first voice and Shannon heard the second guy walk away. She felt humiliated that she'd wet herself, but she was looking forward to the prospect of a shower and some fresh clothes. She soon discovered that a shower was not what Jimmy had meant.